The Beat Generation - How it all began

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Movie
German title The Beat Generation - How it all began
Original title The Source
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1999
length 88 minutes
Rod
Director Chuck Workman
script Chuck Workman
production Chuck Workman
music David Amram , Philip Glass
occupation

The Beat Generation - How It All Began is a semi- documentary film about the Beat Generation . It appeared in 1999 under the English original title "The Source". Directed by Chuck Workman and the main characters were played by Johnny Depp , Dennis Hopper and John Turturro .

action

The film presents the history and background of the "Beat Generation" in a semi-documentary way. It begins in 1944 when the literary founders of this "Beat Generation" Allen Ginsberg , William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac meet at Columbia University . They are dissatisfied with the rules of society and gradually become outsiders. But they still make their voices heard, if not always intentionally. The hippie era emerged from the spirit of this culture of the so-called “beatniks” around 20 years later, which is why it can also be described as the first representative of a youth and pop culture. This beatnik attitude towards life influenced a whole generation of artists such as Andy Warhol , Bob Dylan and Tom Waits . The film ends with the deaths of Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs in 1997.

It shows their friendships, their arrival in the American consciousness, their travels, frequent parodies, Kerouac's death and Ginsberg's politicization. Their movement blends with bebop , John Cage's music, abstract expressionism and lively theater.

Production background

The three authors present themselves to a large extent and present their own texts, in the game scenes they are embodied by Johnny Depp, Dennis Hopper and John Turturro. They also interpret the work of the three writers. All three actors are avowed fans of the writers' work.

The film contains both original film excerpts and images as well as recreated scenes, which gives an insight into how the Beat Generation came about.

In 2006 the film was re-released on DVD by MCOne.

synchronization

The film was not dubbed, there are only subtitles in different languages. The reason for this is that the texts are to a large extent spoken by Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac themselves, which defines the documentary character of the film. This would be partially lost through a complete synchronization.

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